Starting device for internal-combustion engines.



L. C. VAN RIPER.

STARTING DEVICE POR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.-6. 1910. LIQJNE., Petentea Feb. 2s, 1915.

IN e e www THE Nome/S PETERS Cu.. PHOTO-LITRO, WASHINGYON. D, C.

L. C. VAN RIPER.

STARTING DEVICE EOE INTERNAL eoMEUsTIoN ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED OOT.6 1910.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

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'HE NOR/els PETERS C0.. PHOTO-LITHOI. WASHINGTUN. D. Cy

L. G. VAN RIPER. STARTING DEVICE POR INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 6, 1910.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

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3 SHEETS-SHEET 3` 'HE NORRIS PETERS C0.. PHDTO-LITHO., WASHINGTON, D. C.

LEWIS C. VAN RIPER, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Application filed October 6, 1910. Serial No. 585,577.

T0 all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, Lnwis C. VAN RIPER, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, county andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStarting Devices for internal-Combustion Engines, of which the followingis a full, clear, and eXact description.

The invention relates to starting devices for internal combustionengines and seeks to provide a simple and effective mechanism, havingclutch members which will be engaged upon the forward movement of thestarting device or crank and disengaged instantly upon the backwardmovement thereof, and which preferably does not require any preliminaryinward shift of the starting device or crank to engage the clutchmembers.

The invention also seeks to provide a construction in which the clutchmembers are disengaged instantly when the engine starts in forwarddirection under its own power, but the main and most important object ofthe invention is to provide a construction in which the engaging clutchmembers are instantly disengaged upon the back firing of the engine, andthus absolutely preventing any backward movement of the starting crankhandle.

All safety starting mechanisms heretofore devised have provided meansfor disengaging the connecting members upon the backward movement of theengine shaft, but in such devices, the engine shaft and starting deviceor crank must be moved back an appreciable distance before the completedisengagement of the connecting members is effected and a blow is thusimparted to the starting device or crank when the engine backfires,which is apt to injure the operator or mechanism. As stated, the presentinvention provides a construction in which the disengagement isabsolutely instantaneous upon the back firing of the engine.

The invention consists in the features of improvement hereinafter setforth, illustrated in the preferred form in the accompanying drawingsand more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

ln the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of the improved starting deviceapplied to the engine shaft, Fig. 2 is a detail view with parts shown insection on line 2-2 of F 1g. 1. Fig. 3 is a view partly inside elevationand partly in longitudinal section of the improved starting mechanism.Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 1s a viewsimilar to Fig. 4t, showing the parts in shifted position. Figs. 6 and 7are cross sections taken on the lines 6--6 and 7.-? respectively, ofFig. 3. Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a different form ofthe invention.

In accordance with the invention, the starting device or crank iscoupled to a rotary part of the engine, preferably the main engineshaft, by a friction clutch comprismg a member having a suitablefriction surface and a member provided with one or more friction shoesfor locking the starting crank to the rotary member or shaft of theengine. In the preferred form of the invention illustrated in thedrawings, the friction clutch member comprises a disk 10 having alaterally projecting peripheral flange 11 provided with an internalcylindrical friction surface 12. In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6inclusive, the hub 10 of the friction disk 10 is keyed upon anintermediate coupling shaft 13 which is arranged between the engineshaft 141 and the starting crank 15. In the form shown in Fig. 8 thedisk 10 is keyed directly upon the end of the engine shaft 14 and theintermediate coupling shaft 18 is omitted. The brackets 16 and 17 areillustrated in the drawings which form part of the engine frame or frameof the automobile or the like upon which the engine is mounted. Theengine shaft 1/1 is journaled in the bracket 16 and the bracket 17 isbolted to the bracket 16 and is provided with a bearing portion 17within which the hub of the disk 10 and the enlarged inner end 13 of thecoupling shaft are journaled. A pair of arms 18 extend forwardly fromthe bracket 17 (see Figs. 1 and 2) and a non-rotatable member or casing19 is bolted to the ends of these arms. The walls of the chamber withinthe casing 19 are cylindrical, but are provided with a number ofshoulders and with portions of different diameter, as most clearly shownin Figs. 3 and 8. The friction disk 10 in the form shown fits within thelarge outer cylindrical portion 19a of the casing. The end wall of thecasing 19 is provided with a bearing in which is journaled a short shaft20 having a crank arm 21 formed on its inner end and to the outer end ofwhich the starting crank or handle is secured. In the form shown, thehub of the starting crank 15 is split and is clamped upon the outer endof the shaft 20 by a bolt 22 (see Fig. 1).

rlhe enlarged cup shaped end 13l of the coupling shaft 13, whichreceives the outer reduced end of the engine shaft let, is provided withbeveled clutch teeth 23 which are arranged to engage cross pin 23 in theend of the engine shaft. r1`he coupling shaft is longitudinallyshiftable to move the clutch teeth 23 into and out of engagement withthe cross pin 23. A spring 24 coiled around the coupling shaft withinthe bearing 17 eX- tends between 'the hub of the disk 10 and theenlarged inner end of the coupling shaft and tends to shift the couplingshaft to engaged position. The outer end of the coupling shaft 13 isreduced and extends through an opening in the starting shaft 20. Its eX-treme outer end is threaded and is provided with collars 25 which arearranged within the enlarged outer portion of the bore or opening whichextends through the shaft 20. The hub of the crank 15 is provided on oneside with a projecting chambered portion 15 within which is arranged apin 26 that is pressed inwardly by a spring 27 through an opening in theside of the shaft 2O and into engagement with the collars 25 on thecoupling shaft 13. Then the shaft 14 of the engine is driven ahead bythe motive power thereof, the cross pin 23 acts upon the inclined camfaces of the clutch teeth 23 and forces the coupling shaft 13 outwardlyagainst the pressure of the spring 24C. At the end of its outwardmovement the inner collar 25 on the coupling shaft moves be yond the endof thepin 26 so that the latter is forced inwardly by its spring 27 toengage the inner end of the collar 25 and lock the coupling shaft indisengaged position. The locking pin 26 is provided at its outer endwith a finger piece 26 so that it may be readily pulled out against thetension of its spring when it again becomes necessary to start theengine. When this is done the spring 24E quickly forces the couplingshaft 13 inwardly to connect it to the engine shaft. This arrangement ofthe coupling shaft avoids the necessity'of shifting the starting crankinwardly before it can be operated to rotate the engine shaft, as inprior constructions.

The second friction clutch member which coperates with the clutch memberor disk 10 preferably comprises a support or disk 28 whereon are mounteda pair of friction shoes preferably in the form of oppositely arrangedcurved arms 29 and 30 (see Fig. 7), the adjacent ends of which arepivotally connected to the disk 28 at points near the periphery thereofby pivot pins 31. The disk 28 is arranged within the cylindrical portion19b of the casing 19 and is loosely mounted upon the coupling shaft 13.The

friction shoes orarms 29 and 30 are arranged within the flange 11 of thefriction disk 10 and are provided at diametrically opposite points withfriction lugs 32 which are arranged to engage the internal frictionsurface 12 of the iiange 11. The lugs are normally held out ofengagement with the friction surface 12 by a spring 33 extending betweenthe arms 29 and 30.

Opposite the free ends of the friction shoes or arms 29 and 30 the disk23 is cut away to form an opening 311. The free end of the arm 30 isprovided with a laterally projecting lug 35 and the free end of the arm29 is provided with a laterally projecting pin 36. The lug 35 and thepin 36 project laterally through the opening 3lof the disk 28 and areengaged by an operating lever 37 arranged within the cylindrical portion19c of the chambered casing 19. The lug 35 engages a notch 3S in the endof the lever, while the pin 36 engages an opening therein adjacent tonotch (see Figs. el and The pin 36 is arranged inside the lug 35 and isso disposed that, if the upper end of the lever is moved outwardlytoward the wall of the casing 19 to a slight extent, the pin 36 and thelug 35 will be moved in opposite directions to shift the clutch arms 29and 30 outwardly and force the friction lugs 32 into firm bindingcontact with the surface 12 of the fiange 11 to thereby couple thefriction clutch members. The lever arm 37 is forced outwardly to effectthe enga gement of the friction arms or shoes and, at the same time isrotated to correspondingly rotate the engine shaft, by the crank 21 onthe starting member or shaft 20. This crank is provided with a laterallyprojecting pin 39 which cngages an opening 40 in the end of the lever37, opposite the pin 36 and lug lVhile the lever 37 and crank 21 rotateabout. a common center, the lever has additional outward or radialmovement about a center midway between the pin 36 and lug 35. For thisreason the opening 40 is elongated in radial direction.

Vhen the starting member or shaft 20 is rotated in a forward direction,the lever 37 is first shifted outwardly to a slight extent from theposition shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 5 to eifect theengagement of the friction roller 11 with the stationary cylindricalsurface 19c of casing 19 and the continued forward motion of the crankhandle 15 causes the friction roller l1 to move against the springplunger 4-3 in socket i4 to the larger end of notch 42 disposed midwaybetween the ends of lever 37 thereby causing the curved levers 29 and 30to move outwardly and effect the engagement of the friction shoes 32with the disk 10 to impart the forward motion of the crank handle 15 tothe engine shaft. r1`he spring also tends at all times to move theroller 41 to the small end of notch 42. Moreover, the frictionengagement of 'the clutch members can be effected at any point in thepath of movement of the crank handle 15. If the crank handle 15 is movedin the opposite direction the lever 37 serves to disengage the frictionshoes and the crank handle 15 can then be moved idly in reversedirection. The crank handle 15 is instantly released from the engineshaft upon backward movement of the latter, as the pressure between thefriction shoes 32 and the disk 10 is transferred to the friction roller41 sufficiently to release the said pressure between the friction shoes32 and the disk 10 to allow the disk 10 to slip on the friction shoes32. It should also be noted that the friction arms 29 and 30 or shoes 32are disengaged when the engine starts forward under its own motivepower, since the clutch member 10 then rotates forward faster than thestarting member and faster than the shoes 29 and 30 operated thereby,the coupling shaft 13 is then disengaged as described. For this reasonthe coupling shaft is unnecessary, although desirable, where theimprovement is applied to constructions already in use. In the formshown in Fig. 8, this coupling shaft is omitted and the hub of the disk10 is mounted directly upon the reduced end 46 of the engine shaft 14.In this form the casing 19 is secured to a bracket 47 which is mountedon the frame member 16. rIhe part 47 is provided with a central bearing48 which receives the end of the crank shaft 14 andthe hub of the clutchdisk 10. In this form, the starting shaft or member 20 need not behollow, as in the form shown in the other figures. This shaft 20 isprovided with an inwardly projecting reduced portion 49 upon which thedisk 28 is loosely mounted. In other respects,`the construction is thesame as previously set forth. It should be noted that normally theclutch shoes 32, on arms 29 and 30 are held in disengaged position bythe spring 33 so that there is no wear upon the parts of the startingclutch except when it is in operation to start the engine.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 8 the stationary casing 19 isattached to the frame 16 of the engine and a bearing 48 is placed uponthe end of the engineshaft, 1t is however obvious that this arrangementcan be changed in various ways and the stationary rim need not beattached to the engine frame but may be fixed in a stationary positionin any other manner, and it is not necessary to provide an eXtra bearingfor the engine shaft as shown therein.

The broad subject-matter herein set forth is claimed in an applicationfiled by me in the S. Patent Office, September 12, 1910, Serial No.581,600. The claims in the present application are confined to the levermechanism for controlling the operation of the friction shoe or shoes,and to other features not shown in said prior application. But it isobvious that numerous changes may be made in the details of constructionwithout departure from the essentials of the invention as defined in theclaims.

I claim as my invention 1. In starting mechanism for internal combustionengines, the combination of the engine shaft, of a rotary frictionclutch member connected to said shaft, a coperating friction shoe, astarting member, connecting mechanism between said starting member andsaid shoe comprising a crank arm and a lever for shifting same into andout of engagement with said friction clutch member, a non-rotatablemember, and a part engaging said non-rotatable member and revolving withsaid friction shoe for releasing the same at any point upon the reversemovement of the engine.

2. In starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination ofthe engine shaft, of a friction clutch member connected tosaid shaft, a cooperating friction shoe, a lever connected to said shoeforshifting the same into and out of engagement with the frictionsurface of said clutch member, a starting member having a crank armengaging said lever, a non-rotatable member having a surface ofrevolution and a roller interposed between said surface and said leverfor releasing said shoe upon the reverse movement of said engine shaft.

3. In starting mechanismfor internal combustion engines, the combinationwith the engine shaft, of a clutch member connected to said shaft andhaving a cylindrical friction surface, a second clutch member, afriction shoe movably mounted on the latter member to shift into and outof contact with said cylindrical friction surface, a starting memberfree to move at all times in opposite directions, connections betweensaid starting member and said shoe for shifting the latter intooperative and released positions, and means revolving with said shoe forreleasing the same at any point upon the reverse movement of the engineshaft.

4. In starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination with the engine shaft, of a clutch member connected to saidshaft and having a cylindrical friction surface, a second clutch member,a friction shoe movably mounted on the latter member and shiftable intoand out of contact with said cylindrical friction surface, a startingmember, lever connections between said starting member and said shoe forshifting the same to operative and released positions, a non-rotatablemember having a surface of revolution, and a spring pressed rollerinterposed between said surface and said lever connections for releasingsaid shoe upon the backward movement of the engine shaft. .Y

5. ln starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination with the engine shaft, of a friction clutch member connectedto said shaft, a cooperating clutch member, a pair of oppositelyarranged friction shoes movably mounted on said second clutch member, astarting member, connections between said starting member and said shoesfor shifting the latter in opposite directions into and out ofengagement with -said first clutch member, a non-rotatable member, andmeans interposed between the latter and said connections and revolvingWith the latter for disengaging said shoes upon the reverse movement ofthe engine shaft.

6. In starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination with the engine shaft, of a frictiony clutch memberconnected to said shaft, a cooperating clutch member, a pair ofoppositely arranged friction shoes on said secondv clutch member, astarting crank, a lever connecting said crank and said shoes forshifting the same to engaged and releasing positions as said crank ismoved in opposite directions, a non-rotatable member and a rollerengaging said non-rotatable member and revolving with said lever andsaid shoes for releasing the latter upon reverse movement of the engineshaft.

7. ln a starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination with the engine shaft, of a friction clutch member connectedto said shaft, a cooperating clutch member, a pair of oppositelyarranged friction shoes on said second clutch member, a starting crank,a lever connecting said starting crank and said shoes, a non-rotatablecasing and a spring pressed roller interposed between said casing andsaid lever for releasing said shoes upon the reverse movement of theengine shaft.

8. In starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination With the engine shaft, of a friction clutch member connectedto said shaft, a pair of friction clutch arms, a rotatable supportWhereon said arms are pivoted, a lever engaging the free ends of saidarms, a starting crank connected to' said lever for rotating said -shoesand for shifting the same to engage the clutch member, a non-rotatablemember, and a part engaging said non-rotatable Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner ofPatents member and rotating with said lever and said clutch arms forreleasing the latter upon the reversal of the engine shaft.

9. ln starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination with the engine shaft, of a friction clutch disk having aflange connected to said shaft, a pair of friction clutch arms, arotatable support Whereon said arms are pivoted, a lever engaging thefree ends of said arms, a start ing crank engaging said lever to rotatesaid arms and shift the same into and out of engagement with the flangeof said clutch disk, a non-rotatable member and a part interposedbetween said non-rotatable member and said lever for releasing said armsupon the reversal of the engine shaft.

10. ln starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination with the engine shaft, of a friction clutch disk having aflange connected to said shaft, a pair of friction clutch arms, arotatable sup port Whereon said arms are pivoted, a lever engaging thefree ends of said arms, a nonrotatable casing, a starting shaftjournaled in said casing and having a crank handle on its outer end anda crank arm on its inner end engaging said lever, and a. springpressedroller interposed between said ca sin g and said lever for releasingsaid arms upon the reversal of the engine shaft.

11. ln starting mechanism for internal combustion engines, thecombination with the engine shaft, of a starting crank journaled in linewith said engine shaft and held against axial morement, an intermediate,longitudinally movable, coupling shaft, said shafts having interlockingclutch members arranged to shift said coupling shaft to disengagedposition ivhen the engine starts in a forward direction, friction clutchmembers for connecting said starting crank and said coupling shaft,means connected to said starting crank for engaging` and releasing 'saidfriction clutch members as said cank is moved in opposite directions, anonrotatable member, and a part engaging said latter member and rotatingwith. said starting crank to release said friction clutch members uponthe reverse n'iovement of the engine shaft.

LEl/VIS C. VAN HIPER.

`Witnesses Gnoncn FIN irnLs'rmN, ABRAHAM NOVIGK.

Washington, D. C.

